Purpose and HistoryThe Herbert and Mary Jane Lefler Lecture
Established in 1993 by Mary Jane Lefler in memory of her husband Herbert P. Lefler, the Lefler Lecture carries forward the Lefler family tradition of inquiry and learning. Their daughter Jane Lefler Wahlund graduated in the Gustavus class of 1975 with majors in political science and history.
Herbert P. Lefler was an attorney by trade but a teacher by nature, who invested in learning all of his life and was fortunate to have the means to do so. He thoroughly enjoyed young people. He spent many years as a Sunday school teacher at the high school level. His goal was to spark their minds and create in them a sense of moral and ethical integrity. Herb spent an enormous amount of time in conversation, at the church, at school, and at home, encouraging them not only to think with their minds, but also to explore with their souls. His deepest wish was to help as many young people as possible, and to that end the Lefler lecture at Gustavus was begun.
Mary Jane Lefler is a nurturer. She has spent her whole life being the sounding board for her husband, her children and her friends. She is an avid reader, having three or four books going at once. She spent many nights at the kitchen table helping her three children not only with schoolwork, but also giving them the tools to realize that as individuals they are unique. She taught them that everyone has their own talents and that each one has a responsibility to nurture and grow those talents.
The Lefler Lecture is intended to enrich the academic program for students at Gustavus Adolphus College by inviting outside speakers (e.g., professors, lecturers, artists, historians, theologians, and the like) to the campus. Originally intended to focus on political science and history, and to the extent possible to coordinate efforts with Carleton College where a similar lecture was endowed by this new agreement, the Lefler family broadens the scope of the Lefler Lecture to encourage use by academic and other departments to invite speakers whose 2-3 day visit to campus could include not only a campus-wide lecture, but also classroom visits, and formal and informal conversations with students.
Past Speakers
| Year | Presenter |
|---|---|
| 2017 |
Dr. Azriel Bibliowicz, professor emeritus in the School for Film and Television at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá, Columbia |
| 2016 | Dr. Willie Jennings, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies, Yale University Divinity School Gustavian Weekly article Event website with archive of lecture |
| 2016 | Chuck Owen, GRAMMY nominated composer and Guggenheim Fellow |
| 2015 | R. Tripp Evans, Professor of Art History and Mary L. Heuser Chair in the Arts, Wheaton College |
| 2015 | Theodicy Jazz Collective |
| 2013 |
Kevin Gover, Director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian |
| 2010 | Diana Taylor, New York University Professor |
| 2006 |
Dr. Mark Edmundson, Daniels Family Professor of English, University of Virginia |
| 2005 |
Dr. Elizabeth Nunez, Distinguished Professor of English at Medgar Evers College, the City University of New York |
| 2004 |
Dr. Peter Marshall of the University of Warwick, England |
| 2000 |
Martin Luther King III, son of Martin Luther King Jr. |
| 1999 |
Harry Wu |
| 1998 |
John Dittmer |
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